Can-feeding mfans



N. H EOOKS. CAN FEEDING MEANS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 13. 1920.

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CAN moms MEANS. APPLICATION FILED DEC. 13. I920.

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end between two of the ribs 23 are rolled around the spirals. of the guideway when the rack rotates, the spirals pushing the cans endwise between the guide ribs in the manner of a screw and nut, it being understood that the flights are composed of angle irons, radially disposed flanges serving to form guiding ribs 23 to prevent the cans from moving circumferentially with respect to the rack and flanges at right angles thereto serving as: floors to sustain the cans in their movement 'endwise and prevent them from dropping or being pushed toward the center of the rack. V

The spiral guide 21 is formed of a T-sectioned metallic shape bent into a spiral coil with the flanges on'the convex side constituting, as it were a single tl readed screw, the insides of adjacent overlying flanges constituting the surfaces on which the cans or other bodies are rolled or moved spirally. The said T-irons 21 may be suitably anrhored to the shell by brackets or otherwise.

One or more charging ports are provided at the top or" the retort and also a discharging portpreferably in line therewith par- A cylindrical casing 40, having an open ing registering with a charging port is provided with a curved flange 41 which is bolted to the casing over charging port by means of bolts and nuts 42. A packing gasket may be clamped between the flange 41 and the shell 1 in orderto'prevent the escape of air or other fluid through the joint. Within the ca'sing'40 a pocketed carrier disk 44 is rotatably mounted. The said disk 44 is provided with a number of pockets 45 in its periphery, equally spaced apart and of a depth equal to or slightly greater than the diameter of the cans or other objects to be fed into the retort. The pockets are so designed that the objects will fit neatly witli-. inthem. The width of the pockets circum- 'ferentially is substantially the same as the width of the guideway between the guide ribs or flights 23 of the rack 22. The diameter of thepocket'ed disk 44 may be substantially the sameas that of the rack 22, and the number of pockets 45 equal to the number of guideways in said rack 22. The disk 44 has a machined plate 44 secured to each face, and is fitted within the casing 40 with a'piston-tight fit to prevent the escape of compressed air from. the retort except'that which will be trapped'in the pockets asthe carrier disk rotates; Casing 40 is provided with entrance opening 46 for the cans or other bodies 47 to be treated. This opening preferably extends circumferentially of the casing a distance equal to the circumferential .width of a plurality of pockets.

, After treatment within the retort the cans or other objects are received by a carrier diskodfaced with plates 60 like the disk length of said bodies. moves the ob ects along fixed guide, corntrapped in the pockets 51. A flange 58 projecting from the casing 52 is bolted to the shell 1 in the same manner as the flange 41. Suitable means are provided whereby the cans may be discharged from the rotary rack 22 and received in the pockets of the disk 50 and discharged from aid disk through an opening in casing 52, as described and illustrated in the application of which this Carrier disks 44 and 50 are is'a division. both fixed to shaft 71 and rotate in unison.

The particular invention to which this application relates consists in'the means for feeding the cans to and placing them in the pockets 45 of the charging carrier or valve 44.

The said feeding means comprises in general an endless. chain conveyer 48 along which .the carrier moves the cans or like objects and drops them one by one, successively, into the successive pockets of the disk 44, the said .con'veyer and the said disks travellingat exactlythe same linear speed, both being driven directly from the same rotary member,-in the embodiment illustrated, shaft 71.

.The said chain carrier 48 consists of two series of links 5601? suitable length pivoted together by cross pins 57 which are spaced from each other a distance equalto the circumferential width of a pocket 45 and constitute object engaging means providing an ob ect receiving space between them. The

pins are of a length determined by the The conveyer 48 prising a section 49 preferably composed of tour angle bars 58; spaced from each other as shown in Figure 3 so ast-o define in cross section a rectangle, and the ends of the pins 7 57 project through the spaces or slots58 be gravity magazine or chute 60 adapted to direct objects through a suitable opening in the upper side of the guide 49 so that the cans, arranged one on top of the other in chute 60, will feed by gravity through said opening and drop one by one into the spaces between the flights of the travelling conveyer 48. I

g The guide 49 is disposed on an upward Thus the chute 49 serves as a selector to reject cans delivered to it in wrong position by accident or to reject any objects of small dimensions that may happen to get into the chute 60.

The guide or chute 49 has its under flanges eliminated where the guide registers with the described cut-away portion of the casing 40 in order to permit entrance of the cans into the pockets 44. After the carrier chain 48 leaves the guide 49 beyond the delivering opening in the casing 40 it passes through a box casing 61 formed on or attachedto the valve casing 40 and through several sections of box casing 62, as illustrated in the drawings, around three guiding sprocket wheels 63. The rollers 59 serve to guide the conveyer chain in its passage through the box casings 61 and 62.

In order to operate the mechanism clescribed in the particular form of the invention illustrated, a worm wheel is keyed to the shaft 24 for rotating the rack 22, and a worm wheel 72 is keyed to the shaft 71, said worm wheels 70 and 72 being of equal diameter. A worm 73 keyed to a main driving shaft 74, which is supported by a bracket 75, drives the worm wheels 70 and 72 inabsolute synehronism and in the appropriate directions. The pockets of the receiving and discharge valves being of equal circumferential width to that of the guideways in the guides 23 andthe two carrier disks being of equal diameter to the rack 22, it is clear'that'the peripheries of said disks and racks will move with absolute synehronism and the cans will be delivered from the charging pocket to the rack and from the rack to the discharging disk with accuracy, as pockets and guide spaces between the racks continue in registration throughout the movement ofthe mechanism.

In order that the conveyer 48 may be moved in absolute synchronism with the disk 44 and the spaces between the pins or flights be in registration withthe pockets 45 of Said receiving valve, the pins being spaced apart a distance equal to the spacing of the divisions separating the pockets as stated, the conveyer 48 is driven by a sprocket wheel 78 keyed to the shaft 71 and a sprocket chain 79 driven from saidsprocket wheel 78 en gages a sprocket wheel 80, rigid with a conveyer sprocket wheel 68. c

The means sought to be claimed in this application consists of the combination of a pocketed carrier, with the guide and con-- veyer adapted to place cans or the like successively in successive pockets of the carrier.

In continuous cookers high speed operation is an important factor in commercial success. Extraordinary precautions must be taken, however, to place the cans accurately in the pockets in order to avoid jamming of the cans and consequent stoppage of ma chinery. By the construction shown cans are moved to the pocketed charging carrier at the same rate of speed that the carrier moves, are held successively in exact registration with successive pockets and dropped one by one into the pockets. The conveyer chain is extended an appreciable distance circumferentially of the pocketed charging carrier so that several pockets are simultaneously in registration with several canspaces in the conveyer. This affords abundant time for the can to move from the canspaces in the conveyer well into the registering pockets before the conveyer moves away tangentially from the carrier.

Having described my invention in such manner as to enable those skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In mechanism of the class described, a carrier having object receiving pockets, a conveyer having object engaging means providing object receiving spaces corresponding with said pockets, means for moving said carrier and conveyer to cause said object engaging means and pockets to travel simultaneously in the same direction at the same linear speed, said carrier and conveyer being relatively arranged so that successive object receiving spaces of the conveyer successively register with successive pockets of the carrier and transfer said objects from the conveyer to the carrier.

2. In mechanism of the class described, a disk-like carrier having object receiving pockets in its periphery, a conveyer having object engaging means providing object receiving spaces corresponding with said pockets, means formoving said carrier and said conveyer so as to cause said object engaging means and said pockets to travel simultaneously in the same direction at the same linear speed, said carrier and conveyer being relatively arranged so that the conveyer delivers objects tangentially with respect to the carrier, and successive object engaging spaces of the conveyer successively register with successive pockets of the carrier and transfer said objects from the conveyer to the carrler.

3. In a mechanism ofthe class described, a disk-like carrier having object receiving pdckets in its periphery, a conveyer having object engaging means providing object receiving spaces corresponding with said pock- &

ots, means for moving said carrier and said conveyer, so as to cause said. object engaging means and said pockets to travel simultaneouslyin the same direction-at the same linear speed, said carrier and conveyer being relatively arranged so that a portion of the conveyer moves in an arc concentric with said pockets, and presents a plurality of its object receiving spaces in registration simultaneously with a corresponding number of pockets, so as to successively transfer objects from the conveyer to successive pockets otthe carrier, and maintain each object receiving-space in registration with its corresponding pocket throughout a distance equal to the peripheral extent of a plurality ot pockets.

d. In a mechanism of the class described, a'carrier having object receiving pockets, a fixed guide having discharge point over the path of movement of said pockets and adjacent thereto, a conveyer having flights a disk-like carrierhaving object receiving pockets on its periphery, a fixed guide disposed tangentially of said carrier and adapted to discharge objects to said carrier, a flexible conveyer having flights adapted to travel parallel with said guide and engage objects supported by the guide and cause them to travel toward the discharge point, said flights being spaced to form object receiving spaces corresponding with said pockets and arranged to register therewith, and means to guide said conveyer in an arcuate path concentric with the peripheral pockets beyond the discharge point of said guide.

(3. In a mechanism of the class described, a disk-like carrier having object receiving pockets 'onits periphery, a fixed guide having bottonntop and sides, said guide comprising a section arranged tangential to the carrier adapted to direct objects thereto, and a bottomless section, in continuation thereof, arcuate in form and concentric with the periphery of the carrier, a flexible conveyer recess? having flights moving in said guide and spaced to form ob ect receiving spaces corresponding with said pockets, and arranged to register therewith, and means for causing said carrier and conveyer to travel simultaneously in the same direction at the same rate of speed.

7. In a mechanism of the class described, a disk-like carrier having object receiving pockets in its periphery, an endless conveyer having ob ect engaglng means providing object receiving spaces corresponding to said pockets, said conveyer having its delivery ply extending ad acent the pockets of said carrier and the object receiving spaces disposed so as to register with said pocketsyand driving gear between said carrier and said conveyer adapted to compel the periphery of said carrier and said conveyer to move at the same linear speed. 7 a

8. In mechanism of the class described, an object guide having alongitudin'al slot in its bottom, a conveyer having cross flights forming object receiving spaces arranged to move over said slotted bottom, and a gravity feeding magazine arranged to feed objects to said guide between said flights.

9. In mechanism of the class described, an object guide composed of four spaced angle bars, a. conveyer chain having one ply traveling along said guide, said chain having spaced cross pins serving as object engaging flights, said pins projecting through the lateral spaces ot the gulde, the projecting portions of the pins thus serving as pivots tor the links oi"- said chain, the under flanges ct saidangle bar being of a width and separat d sufliciently to sustain objects of sub stantially the full width of the guide space,

and to reject objects that are substantially smaller or in the wrong position.

NELSON H. Forms. 

